The Office for Design & Architecture's renovation of 176-182 West 82nd Street, including the two-story penthouse addition that is so angering the neighbors, went before the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday. It was met with the same type of opposition that it received at its three separate Community Board 7 visits, and, after hearing opposing testimony from multiple CB7 committee chairs and some neighbors, including yet another letter from alleged neighbor Kevin Bacon (this one very pared down, with no mentions of the resale value of his apartment), the LPC decided that the rooftop addition was, in the words of one commissioner, "really too large and much too visible." The other commissioners unanimously agreed, despite the fact that the architects insistently referred to it as the "invisible rooftop addition," "nearly invisible addition," "barely visible addition," etc. They also responded to criticism by saying, "We've worked and exhausted every possible means to accommodate the community." Except, apparently, reducing the size of the penthouse, which they'll be forced to do now, by an entire floor.
The architects did listen to some of CB7's non-penthouse-related suggestions, however, removing an offending canopy from the plans and agreeing to paint the base of the facade brown instead of white. As such, the LPC found everything but the rooftop addition appropriate.
· 176-182 West 82nd Street coverage [Curbed]
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